HU gears up for new transition

Donovan Rose has known Jerry Holmes since 1986, when the two played against each other in the NFL.

So when Rose learned that Holmes had been dismissed as Hampton University's football coach, and that he would be replacing him, he reached for the phone.

"I wanted to call Jerry," said Rose, a defensive back with the Miami Dolphins when Holmes was a cornerback with the New York Jets. "It was in my heart. ... I said, 'You gonna be all right?' He said, 'Yeah. I'm good, I'm good.' Jerry, he's a realistic guy. He's fine.

"I'm glad that I spoke to him. That took a load off, just being able to speak to him."

Rose, Hampton's secondary coach for 17 seasons before taking Holmes' defensive coordinator spot when Holmes became the Pirates' head coach last year, was introduced officially as Holmes' replacement Wednesday. Holmes, who went 6-5 in his one season, was fired Monday, after athletic director Lonza Hardy said his planned job interviews with NFL teams were hurting the program.

On Monday morning, Rose attended a team meeting — "I saw Coach Holmes and everything was good" — and was running some errands in the afternoon when he got a call from an assistant coach at around 5 p.m. telling him Holmes had been fired.

"And then somehow — I can't remember exactly how I heard — I had word I needed to call Mr. Hardy," Rose said.

Rose met with Hardy later that evening and was offered the job. He decided to take it on the drive home.

Slip of the tongue aside, Bynes said the Pirates are focused on moving forward after what players thought was a routine Monday night study hall turned into Holmes' announcement that he was leaving.

"When we heard the news, it was kind of like a funeral home in here," Bynes said. "It took us that night to get everything out of our system. When we found out Coach Rose was gonna be our head coach, a lot of smiles came on faces. ... We're grateful that it's in-house. We know Coach Rose. He's been around us. He's talked to us about his family and his life, and we respect that."

Rose, 51, who grew up in Norfolk, is a 1979 Hampton graduate who won the Grey Cup with the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1984 before leading the Dolphins in interceptions in 1986. He joined HU's coaching staff in 1991 and has been a part of 14 conference championships.

"He has the respect of the student-athletes," Hardy said. "Everybody on campus loves him."

Hampton now has had two coaching changes in as many seasons. Holmes took over after three years as the Pirates' defensive coordinator and linebackers coach when Joe Taylor left for Florida A&M.

"At that particular time, we just felt that Coach Holmes was the person," Hardy said. "At this particular time, we think it's Rose time."

Canute Curtis, who joined Hampton's staff last season as the defensive line coach, was promoted to defensive coordinator.

"Coach Holmes coached me in college (at West Virginia), and he's a father figure," Curtis said. "I was down at first, but you've got to realize it's part of your profession. (Holmes) taught me a lot and I love him to death, but you've got to move on."

Hardy said HU officials had gotten phone calls warning them recruits were being told not to go to Hampton because Holmes was looking for an NFL job. Curtis said he hadn't heard any rumblings about that, but he did call recruits to tell them the program was in good hands with Rose.

Offensive line coach Terry Beauford will be Rose's offensive coordinator. Roy Johnson will remain as quarterbacks coach, and Devan Hill will remain as secondary coach. Rose hired a new running-backs coach and recruiting coordinator, Steve Fields, from the University of Miami, and still is looking for a wide receivers coach and a defensive line/linebackers coach.

Online For more on Donovan Rose, read Melinda Waldrop's On Campus blog at dailypress.com/oncampus."Jerry Holmes was a man of few words. Donovan Rose is not. Rose had no problem getting acquainted with the crowd at HU's football meeting room. He talked about his playing days in the (CFL), his love of Hampton and his coaching philosophy."